DIY Valentine’s Coffee Mugs

How about surprising your loved ones with something homemade this year? We’ve come up with a couple of techniques for you to choose from to make a fun & fancy Valentine’s Day mug. Check out our instructions and make it on your own!

Step1:
Clean off your mug with a paint brush and rubbing alcohol. You want the surface to be clean when you apply the painter’s tape for your design. This helps the ink to adhere to the mug easier.

Step2:
With the painter’s tape, place a few strips on your mug so you can draw out a design. Choose any design you’d like, we created a Valentine’s Printable for you to use if you need some inspiration, just transfer the designs to the tape with pencil or marker (keeping in mind the rubbing alcohol will make the marker run a little).

Step3:
Use the exacto knife to remove the excess tape. This will probably take the longest depending on how intricate your design is. Just make sure you keep pressing on the tape, especially small pieces, so that when you apply the ink it doesn’t bleed under the design.

Step4:
Now that your design is completely cut out. Take a cotton swab and dip it in whatever ink color you choose and start painting your mug, letting the colors overlap to create a watercolor effect. Push the colors from left to right, wrapping around the mug or allow them to drip any way you desire.

Step5:
Allow the ink to dry before peeling away the tape stencil you created. You can clean up an bleeding colors with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.